Kwon Young-soo, Vice Chairman of LG Energy Solution, "No Production Disruption Due to China's Graphite Export Controls"

Met with reporters at the Battery Industry Day event on the 1st

Kwon Young-soo, Vice Chairman of LG Energy Solution. Photo by LG Energy Solution

Kwon Young-soo, Vice Chairman of LG Energy Solution and Chairman of the Korea Battery Industry Association, stated that there will be no production disruptions due to the Chinese government's graphite export controls.

On the 1st, at the '3rd Battery Industry Day' event held at Lotte World Hotel in Songpa-gu, Seoul, Vice Chairman Kwon told reporters in response to a question about the impact of China's graphite export controls, "(Regarding production disruptions) I don't think so, and I don't believe the Chinese government will go that far," adding, "(The Chinese government) intends to control graphite related to the weapons sector, not the battery industry."

Earlier, the Chinese government decided to impose export controls starting December 1 this year on ▲high-purity, high-strength, high-density artificial graphite materials and products ▲natural flake graphite and products. Consequently, there are analyses suggesting that domestic battery companies, which depend on Chinese graphite imports for over 90%, could face negative impacts on production. However, Vice Chairman Kwon analyzed that the impact from graphite export controls would be minimal. In fact, battery cell companies such as LG Energy Solution have diversified their supply chains by sourcing materials not only from Korea but also from Japanese and Chinese anode material companies.

He also noted that as electric vehicle demand decreases, automakers are revising their electric vehicle mass production plans. Vice Chairman Kwon diagnosed, "Since electric vehicles are still operating at a loss, they have no choice but to plan to reduce electric vehicle sales for now," adding, "With interest rates rising, overall vehicle demand is also declining."

Regarding LFP (Lithium Iron Phosphate) batteries, whose necessity is being emphasized as price competition in the electric vehicle market intensifies, he announced plans to advance the mass production timeline. Vice Chairman Kwon said, "We are trying to bring forward the scheduled 2026 mass production date for LFP batteries as soon as possible," and "Since we have experience producing LFP batteries, advancing the mass production timeline will not be difficult." LG Energy Solution has been producing LFP batteries for energy storage systems (ESS) at its Nanjing plant in China since August this year.

LFP batteries have superior price competitiveness compared to NCM (Nickel-Cobalt-Manganese) batteries. Although they have lower energy density, they offer higher safety. For this reason, while it is difficult to apply them to high-performance electric vehicles, the market expects an increase in LFP batteries installed in mid- to low-priced electric vehicles.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.